Door-latch.



P. A. SCHWAB.

DOOR LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1911.

1,250,522. Patented Dec. 18,1917.

TORNEY ow inn PATENT OFFICE.

PETER 'A. SCHWAB, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DOOR-LATCH.

1 Beit known that *1, PETER A. SCHWAB, a citizen'of the United States, and resident of New .York city, in'the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful lmp'rovements in Door- Latches, of whichthefollowing is a specification.

*This invention is an improved latchde' notdesire to b'e limited tothat'use orto the specific form-shown-except as defined in the claims.

The main objects of my invention are to secure a positiveand firm retention of the door, permit the easy closing of the door without'manual operation of the latch, facilitate the easy withdrawal of the latch member, preventthe door from being pulled or jarred open without the manual operation of the latch and to reduce the friction incidental to the movements of the latch member both to and from locking position and such islight movements as maybe due towarping or twisting of the automobile body-orthe shaking of the door while trav- 'eling over rough roads.

As the most important feature of my invention, I employ as the latch retainer, a roller mounted to freely rotate and I so design the latch member that when in looking positiomitoverlapsthe roller to a distance greater than the radiusof the rollerand engages with therollerbeyond and beneath the centerof the latter. Thus there is no ru'b bing of the parts in closingthe door and the roller may freely rotate as the catch slides from it; any tendency of the 'door to open causes the latch member totend to move farther into locking position withaconsequent slightrotationofthe rolleryand in fact any Specification of Letters Patent. .Pa,ten1;ed. Deals, 191% 'Applicaltion'filed Ju1'y31, 1917.

Serial No. 18'3,674.

clothing of persons getting'intoor' out of thecar. In the accompanying drawings, Figure l 1s a transversesection through a portion of the door and -door casing inthe planeof 'the latch, said section being taken substantially on'the line 11 of Fig. 2';

Fig. 2 isa vertical section taken on the line '22 of 'Fig.- 1 but on a somewhat smaller scale; v

gig. 3 is a face view of the latch retainer; an

Fig. 4. isa rear view of the latch member and its connections.

in the specific form illustrated, I have shown a portion of a door 10 and a door casing or automobile body 1 1, both having wooden {frames and sheet metal facings 'or outer-walls. Set into the edge-of the door casing is I a latch retainer illustrated particularly in Fig.3. 'This'includes a sheet metal p'late12, the center portion of which is preferably countersunk below the'side edges or retaining flanges 13, the latter-having screw holes or any other suitable means for fastenin'g'the plate in position. The frame of the door casing is cut away to a suflicientextent to receive the countersunk body portion 12'of the plate. Secured to this bodyp'ortion is'a second plate or roller carrier 14. The latter preferably has portions thereof struck up to form lugs 15 or journals fora pin. 'Connecting these lugs is a pin upon which is'journaleda roller '16. The roller retainer is so connected to the base plate 12 that the roller extends in a vertical position and maybe adjusted horizontally toward or from the surface of the door. As shown, the base plate has slots '17 through which retaining screws 18 on the plate '14 extend. By loosening these screws, the "roller may be adjustedtowar d the left hand from the position shown in Fig.3.

Rigidly secured to the door is a'plate '20 provided with screwholes or other suitable means for facilitating its rigid "positioning.

The two vertical edges of the plate are bent back to form lugs 21 and 22 and a portion of the frame of the door in the rear of the plate and between these two lugs is cut away to form the latch recess 23. The latch member is in the form of a metal block 24: riv eted or otherwise rigidly secured to a leaf spring 25 disposed in the rear of the plate 20. The latch member projects through an aperture in said plate and one end of the leaf spring is riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the rearwardly extending flange 21 of the plate. The other flange 22 has a portion 30 bent back to a position substantially parallel to the body of the plate and overlapping thefree end of the spring 25 so as to limit the rearward bending movement of the latter and prevent any undue distortion of the spring or the breaking of the latter.

For withdrawing the latch member, any suitable operating mechanism may be employed. As shown, the rear surface of the spring member carries an L-shaped lug 26 to which is pivoted a link 27. The latter connects to a handle member 28 intermedia ate of the ends of the latter. The handle member is shown as being pivotally supported at its lower end to a bracket 29 and with its upper end projecting through a slot in the upper edge of the door.

It will be noted that the spring 25 permits the latch member to swing substantially in the direction of the undercut engaging face of the latch member and that this undercut engaging face, when in operative position, is at an acute angle to the plane of the door and at an acute angle to the two planes 12 and 2.0. Friction is reduced not only by the use of the roller but by the supporting of the latch member in such a way that it does not rub on the plate 20 in passing through the aperture of the latter.

The only portion of the latch 24 which engages with the roller is that at or closely adjacent to the extreme edge of the undercut face. This edge portion while moving to final position travels along the surface of the roller and when in final position, rests on the latter at a point beyond a diametrical plane through the roller and tangent to the are through which the door swings upon its hinges. In other words, beyond a diametrical plane substantially parallel to the arrow shown in the upper side of Fig. 1.

It will be noted that the latch member has an outer cam surface which may ride over the roller as the door is swung to closed position. The latch member moves back into the recess and the spring is, of course, bent. The instant the latch member passes the highest point of the roller, its pressure against the roller tends to draw the door to final closed position and the latch member when swung in to the final position, as shown in Fig. 1, has its bearing or retaining face engaging with the roller at a point beyond the center of the latter. In the drawing, the latch member is shown as projecting past the roller to a little greater distance than might be usual in actual practice, this feature being slightly exaggerated in the drawing to make its operation more apparent. A short stop may be provided against which the latch will engage so as to prevent it from swinging all of the way to the final position shown and prevent such a great overlap of the roller. In opening the door, the handle member 28 serves to pull the latch back over the roller and the door is swung in the direction indicated by the arrow at the upper side of Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim as new is 1. In combination, a door casing, a latch retainer in the form of a rotatable roller, means for securing said retainer to said. door casing and permitting the adjustment of the latter toward or from the surface of the casing, a swinging door, and a latch member carried by said door and having a cam surface adapted to ride over said roller during the closing movement of the. door and an undercut retaining surface for engaging with said roller at a point beyond and beneath the center of the latter to normally prevent the opening of the door.

2. In combination, a pair of plates, one adapted to be secured to a door and the other adapted to be secured to a door casing, a roller carried by one of said plates and adjustable in a direction at right-angles to its axis toward or from one surface of the door, a spring secured to the other plate and a latch member carried by said spring and having a cam face for riding over said roller during the closing of the door and the bending back of said spring and a retaining face at an acute angle to the plane of said last mentioned plate for engaging with the roller at a point beyond a diametrical plane at right angles to the plane of the door.

3. In combination, a plate adapted to be secured to a hinged door and having a flange at one edge thereof bent back substantially at right angles thereto,and having an openiIlg therethrough adjacent to the opposite edge, a latch supported by said flange and mounted to swing through said opening, said latch having an undercut face, and a rotatable retainer with which the edge of said undercut face may engage during a swinging movement of said latch through a range greater than the radius of said retainer.

4. In combination, a pair of members, one adapted to be secured to a door and the other adapted to be secured to a door casing, a roller carried by one of said members, and a latch member carried by the other member and mounted to swing in respect thereto,

said latch having, an undercut face terminating in an edge engagin with said roller during a movement of said latch through a distance greater than the radius of said roller.

5. In combination, a roller adapted to be carried by a door casing, a latch member adapted to be carried by a door and mounted to swing through a distance greater than the radius of said roller, said latch presenting a cam face movable past said roller during the closing of the door and an undercut face terminating in an edge adapted to engage with said roller at a point substantially diametrically opposite to the point at which the latch first engages the roller during said closing movement.

6. In combination, a roller and a latch member mounted to swing and having a cam face and an undercut face terminating in an edge, the angle of said undercut face being such in respect to the direction of movement of said latch that only the edge portion of said undercut face engages with said roller when in final retaining position.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York, and State of New York this 30 day of July, A. D. 1917.

PETER A. SCHWAB.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

